Electrical measurement: Utility Partners of America (UPA), which helps utilities install and upgrade water, gas and electric meters embedded with time and money-saving technology, safely replaced about 150,000 digital electric meters as part of a system-wide smart meter upgrade for the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). UPA also provided maintenance and new construction installations on behalf of OUC’s water division.

In addition to the electric meter installations, UPA managed the data transfer from OUC’s old analog meters to the new digital meters and coordinated the salvage and recycling efforts for the old meters. The system-wide upgrade accelerates a program that has been in place for several years and includes all of OUC’s meters.

The new meters will help customers better manage their electric use and ultimately their utility costs by providing them with detailed consumption information. Once the entire OUC system is upgraded, customers will be able to monitor their daily usage via a new website.

“We’re excited to give our customers the power to save energy and money,” said Byron Knibbs, OUC Vice President of Customer & Sustainable Services. “This digital meter installation provides the foundation for OUC to offer new programs like prepaid metering that will help customers control their costs.”

UPA works closely with utilities to establish formal meter installation procedures, with every meter technician receiving extensive training prior to performing meter installations to help them identify and address irregular operating conditions.

For more than 15 years, Utility Partners of America has delivered comprehensive and scalable utility solutions, managing large-scale installation projects for water, gas and electric utilities, municipalities, and energy cooperatives. UPA’s core expertise is the installation of water, gas and electric meters, demand response equipment and AMI networks, with an expanded service offering to address a range of utility needs ­ ranging from operations and maintenance services to call center services, marketing and back office support. A process-oriented company, UPA understands the tactical planning necessary to make large-scale rollouts successful.